


break open, break through

by boxuan



Category: Love Live! School Idol Project
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Bad Ending, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Friends With Benefits, Friends to Lovers, Happy Ending, One-Sided Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-15
Updated: 2017-12-15
Packaged: 2019-02-15 05:45:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13024512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/boxuan/pseuds/boxuan
Summary: Kotori meant to leave her heart locked after a heartbreak. (Umi Sonoda hasn’t received the note.)Maki breaks hearts along her way to true love. (Nico Yazawa is hiding her heart, but it gets dragged onto her sleeve.)





	break open, break through

**Author's Note:**

> Please listen to Red Velvet - My Second Date for Kotoumi feelings and to Red Velvet - I Just for Nicomaki feelings!

The most striking thing about Maki Nishikino is her hair.

It’s not the most attractive thing, of course - that would be her very pretty, very rare smile, Kotori decides -, but it does catch everyone’s eyes.

Kotori is not an exemption ; when a flash of bright red hair passes her, she’s fallen.

 

Their kisses are intense, in all kind of ways. Sweet and slow pink, they warm Kotori’s stomach ; hot and fast and red, they make Kotori pull Maki closer.

Their thing - affair, relationship, love, whatever it is - feels right.

(At least to Kotori, it does.)

* * *

 

“Hey”, Kotori places a quick kiss on Maki’s cheek when she arrives in the bar. She doesn’t notice Maki quickly whipping away the kiss’s ghost with a tissue while she’s arranging a chair for herself.

“Have you been waiting for long?”, Kotori asks, sitting down next to her. They’re by the bar, near the exit. The building is pretty empty - besides Kotori and Maki, there’s only a few guys and a black haired girl in it.

“Not at all”, Maki answers, taking off her jacket and revealing a short top underneath. Kotori’s gaze lingers on her cleavage for a moment before getting comfortable on her own.

“Do you want anything?” Kotori waves with a small menu in her hand, and Maki nods.

 

They order their drinks, and when they’re eventually sipping on them, silence falls over them like a heavy cloak.

“Hey, Maki”, Kotori suddenly asks, “what’s your favorite color?”

Maki kind of chokes on her drink. “Excuse me?”, she coughs, face red.

“Your… your favorite color”, Kotori slowly says, taken aback by her reaction, “What is it?”

 

“Why does it matter?”

 

Kotori can’t help but frown. Everything else with Maki comes easy to her, but talking is  _hard_. Kotori isn’t dumb - she can see Maki has problems opening up, not to her especially, but to everyone.

 

“Maki?”

“I don’t want to be your girlfriend.”

 

Apparently, Kotori isn’t smart enough to see that Maki doesn’t want to open up.

 

“I’m sorry”, Maki breathes, “but I’m not exactly… looking for something serious. I’m really sorry.”

 

Kotori blinks. “It’s alright”, she croaks, ignoring her heart stopping in her chest, “I will just…”

She grabs her jacket with awkward, clumsy movements and stands still in front of Maki for a moment before she hurries out of the bar. (She wishes she hadn’t looked back to Maki. She really didn’t have to see the relieve in her almost-girlfriend’s eyes.)

 

When Kotori steps out of the bar, she closes her ears and exhales.

She heads to her holiday home, ignoring her stinging eyes and throat and her heart, whose pieces seem to rip her chest apart.

 

* * *

 

 

Maki doesn’t have a favorite color.

She chased away one perfectly well, pretty, charming and smart girl because she didn’t want to tell her about her favorite color. (And she doesn’t even  _have_  one.)

Kind of reminds her how she broke up with that Rin girl because she bought them matching key chains.

(To be fair, they were two cats with lots of hearts and it was pretty romantic and it made Maki panic.)

 

Maki has found out that she’s not a relationship person in those past years. (She has gotten tired of hurting people, even if they don’t mean the world - or anything - to her. She does feel kind of bad for it.

Besides that, the plates that are sometimes thrown at her by her ex-lovers are mostly her own and she’s way too lazy to buy new ones after every breakup.)

 

She sips on her drink, trying to put Kotori’s left cocktail out of her eyesight by placing it on the very edge of her table.

She’s so focused on a mind without the incident from earlier in it she doesn’t notice the black haired girl from earlier sitting down on Kotori’s - former - seat.

Maki stares at her as the stranger grabs Kotori’s abandoned cocktail and takes a sip.

She has big, red eyes and the pink lipstick on her lips is slightly smudged. “Wow, she has a good taste”, she says.

“Excuse me?”, Maki deadpans, still stunned by this sudden appearance.

“I’m talking about the drink.” Pink Lipstick’s mouth turns into a smirk and Maki’s expression changes to a frown.

“I’ve noticed you curving that poor girl, so I thought I should check on you. Are you alright?”

Maki blinks, then she blurts out, “Are you trying to _flirt_  with me?”

The faintest of a blush crosses Pink Lipstick’s face. “I’m not, I swear. Are you alright?”

“Are you trying to be my friend?”

Maki gets stared down, before she gets asked, “you’re kind of blunt, aren’t you?”

Maki leans back on her seat, crossing her arms.

Pink Lipstick crunches her nose. “You just looked kind of sad earlier, but if you don’t to believe that, I can go. Sorry for bothering.”

 

She stands up, and Maki’s mind goes blank - she panics, and out of an instinct she grabs the girl’s’ sleeve.

“Hey”, Maki says.

 

_(Oh god, Nishikino, don’t go there.)_

 

  
“I’m alright, I swear, but sit down.” It comes off as an order when Maki wanted it to sound friendly, so she clears her throat and tries again, “I could need a friend right now. Please, stay.”

(Maki’s secret vow not to hurt anyone vanishes slowly into the back of her head as Pink Lipstick sits down again and they start talking.)

 

* * *

 

 

Kotori zips up her jacket when she steps out of the car, the sudden cold stinging in her face.

Unfortunately, time passes quickly when you’re doing only thing - grieving, in Kotori’s case, over what could have been -, so the summer was over in the span of a tear falling to the ground. (She would know.)

 

She glances upon the building, students chattering and laughing next to her while making their way to it.

Kotori sighs and heads to the inside.

 

She doesn’t tell anyone about Maki. Partly because she can’t bear to spend another thought on her, partly because she feels she’s already over her. Bringing up the whole topic again, having to chew all through it again, it would be useless. (That’s what she tells herself.)

 

“Kotori! How were your holidays? It sucks that you had no reception in your holiday home”, Honoka greets her, gesturing her to sit down next to her. They’re having lunch, Kotori hasn’t seen her for weeks since she spent her vacation abroad. Also, from what Kotori can tell, they don’t seem to have any classes together. (Which “totally sucks”, as Honoka puts it, since “without Kotori she’ll be falling asleep in class”.)

“I missed you too”, Kotori smiles, sitting down. “How have you been? Did you have to help a lot in the shop?”

Honoka pouts. “You have no idea! I’ve barely relaxed this summer.”

Kotori laughs with her when Honoka complains about making sweets all day, and she does feel a bit lighter. (It’s kind of like the pause in between heavy rain ; in which the grave, gray clouds are still hanging in the sky, but in which there’s also light. In which you can see.)

They’re interrupted by Hanayo hurrying to their table. “Hey”, she squeals, out of breath, and lets herself fall into the chair next to Kotori. “Second years have different lunch times than third years now”, she sighs, looking so miserable Kotori grabs her hand and squeezes it under the table. “You’ll be fine, Honoka and I will just hang out here a little longer so we can spend more time with you.” Hanayo gives her a shy smile, and Kotori beams back.

“I forgot we’re third years now”, Honoka cries, burying her face in her hands. “We’re going to graduate this year, Kotori!”

“I haven’t forgotten”, Kotori chuckles, patting Hanayo’s hand one last time before gently letting go.

 

“I feel like a lot is going to happen this year.”

 

* * *

 

 

They’re on their way home, well, at least to the Nishikino’s holiday resident, and it’s dark and it’s cold and Maki has the time of her life.

Nico’s the name of the girl with the black hair, red eyes and the smudged pink lipstick, Maki has discovered. She has found out a lot of things in the past hours - she knows that Nico is on the island for a vacation job, not for actual vacation, because she has three siblings and no money at all. (Yet they don’t live far from each other, neither on the island nor at home. If Maki believed in it, she would call it fate.)

She learns that Nico likes to make people laugh, she can tell by the way Nico is acting things out, everything slightly exaggerated, and she doesn’t make Maki laugh, but smile a lot. (Maki feels like she hasn’t genuinely smiled in a long time.)

 

Nico’s favorite color is pink.

 

They arrive way too early.

“Thanks for today”, Maki says, and she means it. She hasn’t thought about Kotori or the nagging guilt in her stomach in a while, and it’s all thanks to Nico.

“No problem.” Nico bites on the inside of her cheek. “Can I see you again?”

It’s shy, sweet almost, but something in Maki shifts at her words.

“I’m.. no”, she splutters, and Nico raises an eyebrow. (Yet Maki sees the hurting in her eyes. She hates it.)

 

“I can’t see you again because I can’t allow you to fall in love with me.”

 

There’s a pause.

“You must really think you’re the shit, Nishikino.” Nico tilts her head, and her usual smirk appears in her eyes again, her eyes not revealing any of the hurt they have portrayed before. “I’m not going to fall in love with you. I promise.”

She pulls out a pen from her bag, grabs Maki’s wrist and writes her number on her hand, in thick black.

Maki glances at the prettily swung numbers, the written out swear Nico has given to her.

 

“See you, Nishikino.” Nico stands on her toes and gently kisses her on the cheek, but it’s alright, because she promised. Maki trusts promises.

 

_I’m not going to fall in love with you._

Maki believes in promises.

 

So she pulls Nico into her house, despite Nico having wanted to go home earlier, and they spend the night on Maki’s bed, talking and smiling and  _being._

* * *

 

 

Kotori meets the new student right after she thinks of Maki, and maybe that’s why she can’t get her out of her head.

Her hair is of a deep blue, black almost ; it reminds Kotori of the ocean’s color before a storm.

 

A flash of dark blue hair passes her and she’s-

 

“Good morning“, the students starts talking after a gesture of their teacher. Her voice is quiet, but stable and calm, and it gives Kotori goosebumps. (It’s kind of similar to mild wind, idly embracing your skin.)

“My name is Umi Sonoda. I’ve attended Otonokizaka so far, but due its closure, I’ll be going to this school.”

 

_Umi Sonoda._

 

Kotori suppresses mouthing the words ; she knows anyway it’ll sound as pretty as flowers blooming in her mouth.

 

_(Oh god, Kotori, don’t go there.)_

 

Dismissed by their teacher, Umi walks up to the only empty seat the classroom has, in front of Kotori.

(Her steps are firm and quick without looking hasty ; Umi Sonoda has got the characteristics of a panther, Kotori decides.)

They maintain eye contact, and even if it’s only a second, Kotori feels her heart electrify. Umi’s eyes are golden, and combined with her blue hair, Kotori’s immediately reminded of a Van Gogh painting.

(Something beautiful, but you can’t truly put your finger on it ; it’s slipping right through your hands.)  
  


Umi averts her eyes and Kotori can breathe again.

She spends the rest of the lesson drilling her stare into Umi’s back of her head.

 

“Do you know anything about the student that transferred to us?”, Kotori asks Honoka. They’re walking around in the city, without a specific goal as they had just eaten dinner.

“No, I barely know her, really”, Honoka thinks about it, “what was her name? Umiko?”

“Just Umi”, Kotori breathes, then she nods, shaking off her tension. “She’s in my chemistry class.”

It’s just a whisper, but, “she’s pretty.”

“Huh? What did you say?”

“Ah, nothing. Hey, do you wanna go to the arcade?”

 

* * *

 

 

“Can I ask you something?”, Nico asks. Under different circumstances, Maki’s heart would start racing - or stop, maybe -, but they’re playing Mario Kart and despite never having played it before, Maki has gotten really into it. (Like,  _really_  really. She didn’t talk to Nico for a whole lap after same snatched the first place from her.)

“Sure”, Maki mumbles under her breathe before she pans her plastic steering wheel to the left. (Bowser heavily rams Baby Peach and Nico scoffs. “Asshole, I was in first place!” Maki grins victoriously.)

 

“What happened between you and that girl in the bar you broke up with?”

Bowser crashes into a wall.

“I- really don’t-“, Maki stutters, her remote almost falling out of her hands.

“No, I’m sorry”, Nico quickly adds. “Just don’t. You don’t have to tell me.”

Maki bites the inside of her cheeks. Kotori’s name has been spilled, but she didn’t bother to explain details. (Why she bent and broke her heart like a glow stick, for example.)

 

“Okay.”  
They remain playing, pushing buttons, the sound of it echoing in the room. The television’s light flickers, reflecting on Nico’s stoic face in every color Maki can imagine.

 

It’s nice with Nico, because while she’s demanding (Maki’s time and attention), she’s leaving her alone about things she doesn’t really want to share. (Her parents. Rin. Kotori.)

It’s especially nice because Maki knows Nico is going to leave her if she does eventually.

 

Nico’s good night kiss is slightly misplaced, not on her cheeks, but rather on Maki’s right mouth’s corner. (Maki doesn’t mind, not physically, and if Nico hadn’t made that promise, she would mind a lot emotionally. But she did promise.)

 

Maki thinks of this almost kiss for the whole night.

(It’s not an good idea.)

 

* * *

 

 

Every time chemistry class is barely over, Kotori wants to reach out for Umi, but Umi is basically out of the room once the bell has rung, so her hand remains lingering.

It’s only the first school week, and Umi is all Kotori can think about (stoic, soaring, stunning Umi), so she eventually takes action.

And signs up for the student council.

 

Kotori feels guilty for it - who does bureaucratic school work to distract oneself from a breakup that wasn’t even a breakup to begin with? (After all, Maki never said they were exclusive.)

Yuuka, a third year whom Kotori hardly knows and also the head girl, welcomes her with a warm smile to the first meeting Kotori encounters as a member.

Kotori vaguely thinks about how she signed a contract by which she has to stay in this club until she graduates before stepping into the room.

To see Umi Sonoda sitting at the table, staring at her like a deer in headlights.

 

Kotori exhales and slowly makes her way to the one empty seat left, which is between Yuuka and -  _of course_ \- Umi.

Clearing her throat, Kotori sits down, straightening the pleats on her skirt. She sees Umi shooting her a look from the corner of her eye, so she gives her a small smile. (Umi quickly averts her gaze, and Kotori’s smirk vanishes.)

 

“I’m glad everyone could gather today.”, Yuuka starts, standing up. “Everyone, this is Kotori Minami, our new secretary, and this is Umi Sonoda, who will be our treasurer from now on. They’re both third years.” She turns her head to the new members. “I’m Yuuka, if you didn’t know already, and I’m the club president. Koyuki and Yuuri here are the vice presidents.”

She sits down, reaching for the tower of piled paperwork in front of her. “Okay, first on the agenda is…”

Kotori tries to focus, she really does - she even half turns her back to Umi so she can’t even see one strand of blue hair -, but, sadly, it’s not working. She can feel Umi’s breath on her back. (She  _can’t,_  but it sure as hell feels like it.)

 

This was going to be a long, long year.

 

* * *

 

 

Maki likes to think that Nico has become her best friend because of two main reasons.

One, they’re close.

Maki wakes up, she’s _there_ , having slept over, mascara still on her eyes. Maki does homework, she’s with her, playing games on her phone, waiting for Maki to be done. When they don’t stuff together, they do their stuff separately, in the same room. In fact, the only times Maki is alone when she goes to school, but even then Nico sometimes waits for her after her last lesson. (She acts coolly, of course, but Maki notices that she has sweat stains under her arms and that her breathe is unsteady, so Maki figures she runs all the way from her near high school. When Maki pointed it out to Nico with the biggest smirk on her face, she just flushed and mumbled something about “working out and getting to Maki simultaneously”. Maki’s flattered and she feels kind of proud. Proud of being worth someone’s else’s time so much they will run to you after class just to catch you in time.)

 

Two, she’s kind of Maki’s only friend.

And only means best, right?

(Maki tries not to think that by this logic Nico’s also her worst friend. It just reminds her of the fact that Nico is going to leave her, too.)

 

Being with Nico is extremely comfortable. Maki has never found that kind of amenity anywhere - it was hidden in her piano’s keys, of course, but its effect vanished quickly when Maki noticed the sound echoed hollowly in the empty house. Playing Chopin’s fantaisie impromptu dragged her heart down, so she stopped playing at all.

Nico is Maki’s music - luring her into a mind without problems, a piece of work she appreciates with a heart on her sleeve.

Which is ironic, because Maki isn’t honest, she never is.

But it’s nice to pretend for a little while.

(Maki turns the music louder.)

 

* * *

 

 

Kotori’s life gets a little worse when her chemistry teacher divides the class into groups and she’s forced to work with Sonoda Umi for two weeks.

They are allowed to do whatever they want, basically ; because the first chemistry exam was written recently, their teacher let the class have some fun and work on projects they could decide about themselves.

Kotori and Umi sit in silence while every other team has started picking up books, searching for ideas and chatting.

Kotori clears her throat. “So”, she chirps, “do you have any ideas?”

Umi doesn’t look her in the eyes when she answers, “the teacher probably had something in mind that will grab everyone’s attention right away.”

Kotori hums, giving Umi a encouraging smile even though Umi doesn’t see it.

“Maybe something that takes time to develop until it finally breaks out?”

Kotori says it carelessly, without really thinking about the content of her words, but it’s the trigger for Umi looking at her for the first time today. (Hell, the first time in  _weeks._ )

 

“Like a volcano?”

Kotori blinks before putting up a smirk again. “Exactly like a volcano.”

 

Umi’s weird, Kotori decides, but she’s not one to judge.

One minute, Umi talks in a quiet, but strong voice, interacts with Kotori and looks her in the eyes ; the other, she avoids Kotori at all means. All the time, she’s kind and thoughtful and calm, and it’s very attractive, no matter how much Kotori tries to deny that.

Kotori has thought about why Umi closes herself off Kotori in those minutes, and she decides it’s because Umi doesn’t want her near. Sometimes Kotori brushes her hand or leg while moving, and she can see in the way Umi flushes she doesn’t especially like it. Kotori feels terrible for it, vowing every time not to put her into distress again, but something in her needs to touch Umi Sonoda, to feel her under her fingertips, and Kotori isn’t sure how much longer she’ll be able to resist.

 

* * *

 

 

The first time Maki’s caution slips is also the first time she gets to kiss Nico Yazawa.

She doesn’t think much about it ; it’s kind of a accident anyway. A mess. (But it’s  _her_ mess. And when the surprise in Nico’s eyes fades and gets replaced by a soft warmth Maki can feel in her stomach, she doesn’t feel as bad as she should.)

It’s not perfect.

They had taken a run together, and Nico’s bangs stuck to her forehead and she was barefaced - Maki looked as bad -, and because Maki was so happy to had finally finished the lap, she put Nico in a headlock, laughing when Nico halfheartedly protested. Nico pinched her and Maki flinched so hard she falls to the ground. (Nico gasped in worry until she sees Maki’s only laughing harder, so she got down on her knees as well, grinning.)

And Maki’s saw Nico’s pale, greasy skin, sweat on her nose, and a smile bigger than her heart, so she leaned in and kissed her.

It’s far from being what Maki would call a great kiss - Nico doesn’t kiss back instantly and their teeth clash - but it’s  _Nico._  (Everything with Nico is kind of great in its own way despite the thing totally sucking, anyway.)

 

They don’t talk about it. Maybe if they did, Maki thinks, they wouldn’t walk this path right now.

Maki really wants to make up her mind about all of this - not to ruin yet another friendship-, but Nico has learned how to do things with her tongue and  _god_ , Maki can’t think clearly when Nico is moaning against her lips.

Maki wraps her arms around Nico. Music‘s in synch with her heartbeat, throbbing along.

She tries to catch herself before she falls into Nico’s red eyes any further, but she fails.

(Maki starts to think that maybe she  _does_ have a favorite color.)

 

* * *

 

 

Kotori does a lot of research whenever she’s able to ; in between exams and her bureaucratic tasks, she looks up how to create a classical, chemical volcano to impress Umi. (She has found that Umi is extremely smart, in all kind of areas, from a butterfly‘s anatomy to loanwords. Sometimes Umi looses herself in a flood of information and Kotori listens with her chin resting on her hands. In those moments, Umi turns soft and gentle and Kotori finds herself to be even more attracted to her.)

So Kotori sits in lunch, nodding and humming as an answer when Honoka is talking to her, not even noticing her best friend pouting because she’s looking at instructions for making a freaking volcano.

It’s worth it, though, when Umi looks her in the eye for another second and Kotori feels pride swelling in her chest.

 

“Do you think we’ll be able to finish this in time?”, Kotori asks after the bell has dismissed them from class, her brow furrowed as they step out of the classroom. Umi gives her a small smile. “It’ll be fine, don’t worry about it.” Kotori nods. They’re making their way to the cafeteria, walking side by side ; and Kotori finds herself in peace, fully embraced in Umi’s steady aura. (She hasn’t thought about  _Don’t-Say-Her-Name_  for five days.)

“Maybe we could prepare something at my place?”, she says without thinking. “You know, for the presentation. I make excellent ham rolls.” Umi chokes on air, and Kotori flushes.

“I’m- sorry, that was a joke-“, Kotori splutters, feeling guilt in her guts as she sees Umi in distress, but Umi quickly shakes her head. “No, I’m sorry, I was just- yeah, let’s”, she vigorously nods, “do that.“

Kotori notices they’re already in front of the cafeteria when multiple students push them to get through the doors, heading to the buffet. It must be a funny scene, Kotori thinks, the both of them with red heads, blocking the way.

“Then… let’s do that”, Kotori clears her throat.  _(Oh god, don’t repeat after her like an idiot, Kotori. Oh god, don’t blush harder.)_

“Yes!”, Umi says, looking everywhere but into Kotori’s eyes. A second of silence - before they rush into different directions, not without accidentally brushing each other’s hands.

 

When Kotori sits at lunch, chewing a surprisingly tasty sandwich, she can’t get Umi Sonoda out of her head.

 

* * *

 

 

A week has passed and none of them talked about what Maki secretly calls The Incident, and Maki isn’t sure if Nico is actually fine with it. (She keeps searching for signs that she isn’t, but Nico is laughing and scoffing and breathing like she always did. Maki stops looking for those signs when something about making up symptoms, needing an excuse to leave and abandonment issues crosses her mind.)

Nico is laughing and scoffing and breathing and Maki’s a little bit closer to a panic attack with every passing day.

Maki reminds herself that Nico can’t possibly know that ; Nico does, despite her caring and attentiveness and genuine interest, not know her at all. (She doesn’t know Rin or Kotori. She doesn’t know her parents. She doesn’t know  _Maki._ )

And they continue with whatever they have. Maki breathes kisses and Nico gentle touches, and Nico gets embraced. (To Nico, they’re sugar ; unable to hold apart, one and only. To Maki, they’re water and oil ; no matter how much time passes, it’s clear to everyone they won’t merge into each other.)

 

Slowly, Nico has less and less time for Maki, with her exams and siblings to take care of, and Maki‘s  _pissed._ She doesn’t exactly feel entitled to Nico’s time and attention, but in those past weeks, she’s grown fond of her. (Maki has heard that people obsessing over their partners are usually called overly clingy or utterly possessive. Not that Nico’s her significant other.  _Hell, no_.)

 

She comes home to a cold, empty house. (Her father is on a business, her mother on a wellness trip. As usual, Maki’s all alone.)

 

“Welcome home, Maki”, she mutters to herself, slipping out of her coat, “How was your day, Maki?”

She takes a peek at her phone. Nothing. No Nico.

Maki throws her phone on her bed.

 

* * *

 

 

Umi’s arriving at Kotori’s house in a second and Kotori is only half dressed, barefaced and almost in tears.

Nothing seems good enough for Umi Sonoda, easily a living art piece, not even Kotori’s favorite dress with the cute ribbons on it. (She wore that dress on her last date with Don’t-Say-h… Maki. Maybe it’s time to make someone else her favorite, Kotori thinks.)

 

She pulls a heavenly blue blouse out of her closet. It’s not perfect, but for now, it should be enough.

 

Umi enters the hall with a shy smile on her lips. (Kotori doesn’t see if she had trouble finding appropriate clothing ; in fact, Kotori is so enthusiastic about the fact that she sees Umi Sonoda that she doesn’t waste gazes at her body. They’re all reserved for her golden eyes and small smirk.)

“Hi”, Umi breathes, and Kotori beams.

“Hi”, she squeals, “come in.”

 

Surprisingly, they have lots of stuff to talk about. (Umi sees Kotori’s collection of recipes, accurately and well-ordered on the shelf, and suddenly Kotori finds herself in a heated discussion on whether cupcakes or cake are the more appropriate choice to bring to a family reunion.

“Cake!”, Kotori frowns. “Everybody loves cake. You can’t do anything wrong with cake.”

“With the right technique, you can impress someone with something as easy as a muffin with a topping”, Umi argues back. “I’d treat my future mother in law with cupcakes!”

“She wouldn’t be your mother in law much longer”, Kotori grins, “Not if you could have brought a perfectly fine chocolate cake.”)

 

They kind of forget they wanted to bake for their presentation tomorrow.

Kotori tells Umi she’s interested in design and fashion, and even shows her the portfolio she still has to send in as an application for university. Umi clearly has zero sense of those topics and it’s obvious, but she nods and asks further when Kotori’s eyes begin to sparkle. (Umi’s attentive, Kotori adores it so much. She could talk all day to her and wouldn’t mind if her mouth got all fuzzy from it.)

Umi shows her pictures of her archery competitions and Kotori is really impressed, even if she doesn’t quite can get behind the techniques ; but Umi seems happy, so she’s content as well.

And the sun sets and Kotori is happy.

 

* * *

 

 

Fall comes and it has become a habit for Nico to drop by after school since there’s no time to meet otherwise. (“Is it okay for me to hang at your place all evening?”, she asked, “like, don’t your parents mind?” Maki shot her a look and despite scoffing back, Nico didn’t ask another time.)

 

Nico doesn’t exactly notice that she’s never met Maki’s parents, and, to what Maki sees, she doesn’t even acknowledge their sole existence. Not that Maki complains.

 

When the leafs turn into different shades of Nico‘s eye color, Maki realizes that she’s never had a friend that long. (Rin was her friend for exactly two weeks, then they dated for a whole another one.

Kotori and her spent time platonically for three days before their first kiss.)

Nico and her had a full summer, and the very first time of their first fall. (Their first, Maki thinks, and the words taste sweet on her lips. Maybe she’ll experience another fall with Nico, and another summer. It feels weird ; planning ahead of her time when the future is still getting crafted by dreams only and not facts. But with Nico, it’s right, kind of. Maki’s not sure. But it’s the closest to security as it gets.)

 

Accidents happen, Maki tells herself when somehow their lips find their way to each other again.

You can survive accidents, Maki tells herself when Nico growls under her breathe and pulls her closer.

Maki thinks about Nico’s unbroken vow she made the first night they met when she gets on top of Nico.

 

( _I’m not going to fall in love with you_. Maki goes down on Nico, a grin on her face.

_I promise._  Nico shudders under her touch, and it makes Maki a little bit addicted.)

 

Maki trusts in promises. So when Nico comes in her arms, with Maki inside her, she’s safe. Their relationship is safe and everything’s fine.

 

* * *

 

 

Umi doesn’t avert her eyes when Kotori gives her a smile the next day, and Kotori realizes how much actual progress they have done in the past week. (Umi talks to her. Umi doesn’t treat her like a leprous person anymore.)

And they present their volcano - without any food to corrupt their teacher - and Kotori’s beaming like a little child. (They even get an A. For teamwork, mostly. Kotori has never been prouder and Umi gives her a low high-five on their way back to their desks when the teacher isn’t looking.)

 

“Do you want to celebrate later?”, Kotori asks when class has ended, and Umi eagerly nods. “Yeah. I have archery after school, though… maybe in the evening?”

“Sure!”

 

They had decided to meet up at six, when Umi has had showered and changed into free time clothing, but Kotori was so excited for their meeting she dropped off at the gym, when Umi still practiced.

(When she entered, Umi was halfway shooting an arrow ; but as she saw Kotori, she flinched and it missed. Ashamed, she waved at her Kotori, who just chuckled.)

Kotori watches Umi in awe, follows the track from arrows so fast she can’t even see them until they hit right the target’s middle. Umi’s great at this ; with ultimate grace, she’s able to focus on what’s important for her in this moment. (Straight posture. Eyeing the target. Shooting. Hitting perfectly.)

 

Like the other three dozen of things that make Kotori’s heart grow tighter at the thought of Umi Sonoda, her ambition is one of them. Her dedication to certain things, as well as the eye for detail and minimalism - those are traits that scream Umi Sonoda. To Kotori, at least.

 

“Sorry it took so long”, Umi breathes when her team has finished practice, walking up to Kotori. (Walking is the wrong term ; sprinting to her would fit a lot more.)

“It’s alright!”, Kotori chirps, “After all I came early.”

“Why did you, by the way? Did something come up?”

“No, not really, I just…”, Kotori hesitates. They’re almost at the changing rooms. “I just wanted to see you.”

She can’t see Umi’s face - Kotori is behind her as Umi is busy unlocking the door -, but she can see Umi’s ear, sticking out of her long, thin hair, turn red in a second. Kotori smiles to herself.

“I see”, Umi croaks, still facing the door and not Kotori, and finally opens it. “I’m going to shower quickly, can I leave you alone for ten minutes?”

 

* * *

 

 

Maybe it’s because they’ve been - physically - exposed to each other, Nico’s become bolder. (She has always been, sure, but not with Maki. Not romantically and certainly not sexually. Whatever that means, Maki thinks, when the line that’s supposed to divide those areas has blurred with their first kiss and was fully erased with the one they shared in bed.)

No, Nico doesn’t grant her peaceful space for herself anymore ; even if she doesn’t ask, Maki can see questions itching under her fingernails.

And then, she  _does_  ask.

“Maki?”, she mutters. Nico’s holding Maki’s waist, putting her in between her legs. Maki’s eyes are closed as she’s leaning against Nico, but when she hears the question to come, she snaps them open, suddenly longing for orientation.

“Yeah?”, she breathes, hoping Nico can’t feel her heart beating under her rips.

 

“Was I your first?”

 

Maki’s hand slides on Nico’s arm, gently loosening her grip because she cannot breathe.

“Your first what?”, she mumbles, then turns around so she sits on Nico’s lap, basically, to smash her lips on hers. Nico turns her head before Maki can touch her (maybe Nico is just as irresistible to Maki as she is to Nico).

“You know what I mean”, Nico says with a low voice, “I mean, I know there were other girls before me, but…” (Maki’s heart aches when she hears Nico comparing herself to anyone else, because no one can be like her, not in a thousand years.)

“There was”, Maki interrupts her before Nico can talk any further, “no one like you, Nico.” No one, she quietly thinks, the same things, but never with a taste this sweet.

It’s a bland answer, of course, but for the moment, the shallow taste of air seems enough to Nico. (Maki’s glad, but at the same time it feels like trying to bury a time bomb under a layer of glass.)

 

* * *

 

 

Kotori finds herself fallen heels over head by the time their second meeting has ended. Umi’s charming, smart and funny in her own, dry way ; she’s attentive and listens and Kotori has never felt more comfortable with anyone, ever. (Not even with Maki. Saying her name now feels freeing, not jailing anymore. Kotori has become an enthusiast with the mere presence of Umi Sonoda.)

Kotori knows she’s swooning all over her, like a child with a silly first crush, but she really cannot help it ; with cautious fingertips, they’re getting closer, and Kotori’s bursting from happiness. (It’s great, to be happy, to have nothing to worry about. The stage in which she isn’t in so deep for Umi Sonoda that it could break her heart to be not loved back.)

These days, she wants to ask Umi out, but she couldn’t bring the words over her tongue, through her lungs if she died. She’s still  _scared._  Afraid that will Umi turn into her old, shy, Kotori-avoiding self again. (Kotori isn’t sure why or how she overcame those characteristics, so she’ll tiptoe around her until she finds out what the factor was.)

 

So whenever she can silently admire Umi’s side profile - the way she puts her hair behind her ear, the way her lips curl into the prettiest smile she’s ever seen -, the words want to blurt out, with trumpets and fanfares they need to confess Kotori’s true feelings.

Kotori also searches for signs Umi could maybe, perhaps return her feelings - it’s not that unrealistic.

(Kotori hopes, at least. Umi is not Maki, but there’s still an ounce of doubt in the back of her head, even if she’s trying to push it away.)

 

With a soft glance in her eyes, Kotori gazes at Umi, and her clouded heart is now sunny, shining bright.

 

* * *

 

 

Maki feels bad when she makes out with a stranger in the bar, but guilt has been weighing a lot on her shoulders these past months - hell,  _years_  -, so it’s not exactly hard to shove the fault to Nico.

It’s not like she and Nico are exclusive, anyway ; and Maki feels the little bit of her heart left turn into something she imagines like a pitch black abyss when she pulls the blonde girl closer (she has forgotten the name ; it never mattered, anyway).

 

Earlier, Maki had spilled like a bottle of ink, but, to be fair, it was Nico who pushed it from the edge.

(At least, that’s what Maki thinks. Maybe she jumped.)

 

If Maki’s ink, then maybe Nico is white paper that soaked all of her into herself.

 

“Please, Maki”, Nico had said, eyes big like a child waiting for candy on Halloween, “tell me.”

Maki didn’t have to ask what she meant, so she started at the beginning. (She isn’t sure what brought her to tell her, spill the ugly truth ; whatever it was, Maki wants it  _gone._ )

 

Maki remembers the time her parents were still together only vaguely, but since memories are pretty much the only things she has got with her parents she desperately clings onto them. (She even has found a diary from when she was six, but threw it away. She doesn’t need more graphic descriptions.)

Maki matured really quickly. In elementary school, her classmates’ mothers had come up to her, complimenting her on the self made chocolate cake she made for their graduation.

Maki smiled thinly. When she had asked her mother to come to the celebration, she got cut off mid sentence, just to be scolded as her mother “had better things to do” and “no time for silly things like that, anyway”. (She didn’t ask her father for he was at work as usually. If he actually was at home, he usually would shush Maki away so he could read his newspaper in peace.)

 

So Maki grew up and eventually stopped going to her parents. She was only bothering them, anyway.

 

One time, they accidentally forgot her at a gas station when they were on their way to their holiday house. Maki had stood outside for about one hour until they came back, realizing they had abandoned her. Sometimes Maki wonders where the line between an accident and a purposefully incident was.

 

And then they filled in a divorce, Maki was more alone than ever. (Around that time, she hooked up with Rin, she remembers ; then, it felt natural, now it’s a painfully obvious draw to her parents splitting up.)

She told Nico that whenever someone got close (gets close), it arouses some kind of panic in her chest she doesn’t know how to shut off. (Worst thing, Maki hadn’t had a breakdown with tears and all that stuff ; she basically showed Nico her heart with a casual smirk and snorts when she told her about her deepest insecurities. She didn’t even have to look at Nico’s face to see the horror on it.)

 

And Maki doesn’t the feel the freedom of venting or whatever people say she’s supposed to feel.

  
(The only thing she feels is the blonde girl‘s tongue in her throat.)

 

* * *

 

 

Once Kotori has decided to ask Umi Sonoda out, she’s fallen a bit more. Maybe it’s the admission of genuine, true feelings ; maybe by time, Umi unfolds her beautiful personality with less caution.

Whatever it is - Kotori catches herself humming to songs stuck in her head and look at everything through rose-tinted glasses.

She introduces Umi to Honoka and Hanayo, who welcome her warmly into their little circle, and from this point on, Umi isn’t allowed to miss any lunch breaks. (It turns out both Hanayo and Umi are into drawing, so there’s not one ounce of the silence Kotori had excepted. She’s glad to watch them talk eagerly, chuckling when Umi’s cheeks flush as she’s gesturing wildly, spluttering words coming out too fast for her tongue. Cute.)

They also meet up with Umi’s two best friends from a nearby school ; Eli, a blonde beauty, and Nozomi, whose motherly behavior instantly sticks to Kotori. They ask her a lot, about school and hobbies, but also about Kotori’s past relationships. (When she wants to answer, Eli suddenly flinches as if someone had kicked her under the table, and Umi smiles a very victorious grin, which of course is completely unrelated.)

 

They’re walking home, almost hands in hands (their fingertips keep brushing each other’s, but neither one is brave enough to take the final step, to finally touch.).

“Hey, Kotori”, Umi suddenly breaks the silence, clearing her throat, “I know we changed the topic earlier, about, um, former partners, but…” She leaves the word soaring in the air, hoping Kotori to get the hit. Kotori does her the favor.

“There was someone”, she says truthfully, “but she’s not important. Anymore, anyway. I’ve…”, she eyes Umi, who doesn’t look back at her, “fallen in love with someone else.”

Umi slowly nods, still dodging her gaze. “You should ask them out”, she says quietly. Kotori’s heart drops. Does she know it’s  _her?_  But why does she sound so distressed, then?

“Yeah, I should”, Kotori mumbles to herself. Then, louder (a bit braver), “Umi Sonoda-“ Umi turns her head. “Do you want to go on a date with me?”

 

Kotori sees at least four emotions in one second.

One, confusion (frowning), two, resignation (“I must’ve misheard that”), three, shock, (“Oh my god, I didn’t mishear”).

Four - absolute panic.

“M-Me?”, Umi splutters, flushing so hard her ears turn pink, too.

“Yes!”, Kotori quickly reassures her, cheeks just as red. Umi looks deadly embarrassed, and suddenly Kotori isn’t sure if Umi even likes her back. (Maybe she misinterpreted, thought too much into it.)

Kotori steps back. Umi’s still dazzled.

“I’m sorry, I’ll just…”  _Go away. Swallow her feelings again._

Umi blinks. “Kotori.” Kotori turns on her heels, sniffling. “Yeah?”

 

“I’d love to.”

The words don’t come through instantly, but when they do, Kotori starts beaming.

“You do?”

“I do.”

 

* * *

 

 

Maki could have wore a scarf, a choker, anything to cover the hickeys on her neck. (But of course, she didn’t. Provoking her relationships to fail horribly seems almost like a signature move of her.)

In this one case, Nico sadly isn’t an exception.

They’re in bed, Nico somewhat on top of Maki, slowly kissing her neck, when she suddenly stops.

“What is it?”, Maki idly asks with her eyes closed, snatching them open when Nico doesn’t answer instantly. Nico’s staring at Maki’s exposed neck. “You didn’t have these hickeys yesterday”, she says. Maki tries to figure out Nico’s mood, but her voice is stable and her eyes, usually disclosing so many things, lay hidden in the dimmed light.

“Yeah”, Maki mutters, “they’re not from you, so…” She wraps her arm around Nico again only to get shaken off.

 

“From who?”

 

It’s just two quiet words, but Maki gets goosebumps all over her skin. “Yeri?”, she tries to remember, “no, it was Eli. Whatever.”

She tries once again to kiss Nico - maybe that’s her cruel streak, to cut people off yet never letting them fully go -, but Nico turns her head and Maki’s lips meet air.

 

“Are you mad at me, Nico Yazawa?” (A cynic smirk pokes the dragon’s eye.)

 

“Of course I’m mad!”, Nico explodes, shoving Maki from her and onto the bed. “You kissed someone else!”

Maki bobs up, supporting herself on her elbows. “So?”, she exhales, “it’s not like you’re my damn girlfriend.”

Nico doesn’t respond, and Maki narrows her eyes. “You  _promised_ , remember?”

 

If Maki was an sensitive person, it would have come out soft, maybe even comforting, but she really isn’t, so she says it with mockery dropping like honey from her voice.

 

Putting a finger in an open wound.

 

Maki feel herself choking on the silence. In all honesty, she has no idea what she’s doing - sheer teasing, pushing just to pull again, shoving Nico away.

“Yeah, I did”, Nico finally says, getting off Maki - her legs were starting to hurt from the weight, and because of the sudden release they feel weirdly light. Nico slips from the bed and is by the door in a second.

“Where are you going?” Maki hates how vulnerable she sounds. (Who is she to demand anything from Nico at this point, even if it’s just plain information?)

 

Nico stares at her blankly, before answering, “I don’t know. As long as it’s a place without you.”

 

* * *

 

 

Kotori gets a déjà vu from their first meeting (and now, it’s their first date!) when she, again, tries to figure out what to wear. This time she forces herself to wear her former favorite dress - the one with the ribbons -, because, maybe Umi can erase the memories of Maki. Sooth, at least. Kotori believes she can ; because it’s Umi Sonoda. Umi Sonoda can do it all, clean the mess others have thrown in Kotori’s way.

 

It’s awkward, but Kotori finds herself enjoying every second of it.

First station’s the cinema - such a cliche, she knows, but Kotori has never had a proper first date and she figures Umi deserves the whole way of dating, from the first date to whatever is going to bloom out of this relationship. (A closer, romantic relationship as the best outcome. Kotori’s s excited for it.)

They’re watching a romance movie, and it only shows Kotori that she has so much more things to learn about Umi Sonoda, because there’s  _pure horror_  on her face while they’re watching.

(Cringe gives Umi actual goosebumps and if Kotori wasn’t feeling so bad about it, it’d be hilarious.)

 

Next - dinner. Kotori wanted to eat in some fancy restaurant, but on a Friday evening everything was already reserved for people with a lot more money than Kotori has, so they have a picnic. (It’s not perfect, because it’s winter already - they’re dining in Kotori’s room, on her bed’s blanket, feeding each other with small cubes of cheese and sausages.)

 

Umi tells her she has never had a date she enjoyed this much.

(“Oh, I thought this was your first date”, Kotori exclaims, genuinely surprised, and Umi flushes. “It is, actually, but it’s also the best one, so…” Kotori has to suppress a laugh and Umi sulks, hiding her face under the scarf wrapped around her shoulders.)

 

The rest of the evening Kotori prances in her room, Umi Sonoda stays in her heart and fills it with warmth.

 

* * *

 

 

Nico’s has got this bad, awful, terrible habit of lying.

It’s not that she doesn’t know the consequences - she just doesn’t always think it completely through.

It’s kind of the same with her and making promises.

 

Middle school. She vowed her mom she wouldn’t forget to get a turkey for Christmas dinner, but she did, with her exams and all. Consequences were that she “ruined Christmas for the whole family”.

Freshman year, high school. She carelessly told her brother to help him with his history homework, but someone at work did a mistake and left a whole mess for her to take care of. When she came home, late at night, her brother was already asleep, proceeding to ignore her for a whole three days.

 

First quarter of college. Without thinking, Nico promised Maki Nishikino that there was no way she was going to fall in love with her.

 

(Of course, she did. Nico Yazawa is always bound to break promises. Maybe that’s her downfall.)

 

Maybe it’s Maki’s fault.

She is, after all, the most beautiful girl she has ever seen, chances are that she’s an actual angel walking on earth. (The fact that she almost spits fire when she opens her mouth are clouding these chances, but Nico is confident that even angels have their tiny flaws.)

Nico’s never been in love, never truly, so maybe that’s why sly grins and well-aimed touches have spun her head so hard she mixes up up and down and left and right. (At the same time, she’s the only person with whom Nico can breathe freely, think clear.)

When she saw Maki for the first time, she was amused by the girl sitting by herself in a bar, so obviously out of place Nico had to talk to her to put the poor girl out of her misery. Maki was nothing to her but a pretty girl that could maybe, in the future, become a friend.

(Oh, how much more she is now.)

 

Nico closes the door behind her and gives her a second to breathe with her blocked lungs, because that’s what the talk they had the past minutes did to her body. (Stinging eyes, tight chest, bleeding heart.)

 

It’s not _fair._

 

It’s not fair that the girl she love with can deal with her so easily, can look into her eyes with a softness Nico has never seen before just to make out with some other girl.

Sometimes Maki Nishikino is an open book to Nico, melting under her touch and being so wonderfully honest with her. Other times, her mood changes in the span of a blink and she goes from clawing Nico closer to her to pushing her away with all she has.

_As long as it’s a place without you._

She exhales and starts heading towards her own home.

 

* * *

 

 

It’s their second date and everything’s the same as before.

At the same time, it’s so much better. They’re doing baby steps of progress, Kotori imagines their bond like flexible material that’s half knitted, but can be something even prettier when it’s done. Maybe they’re like a blank canvas, the corners already painted with colorful volcanoes, cupcakes and cakes, first dates and vivid hearts. A puzzle whose borders are already built, leaving an ordered mess to solve.  
While Kotori did their first, Umi’s planned this date - maybe it could become their thing, she wonders dreamily -, and apparently, they’re going to a concert. (Umi likes a clear schedule more than surprises, Kotori finds out, and it’s no wonder, really. It’s quite cute, though, how sternly Umi presents her plans to Kotori while same is trying to hold her laugh.)

The band‘s is pretty unknown, but good nonetheless ; Umi hums and Kotori bounces along and every love song is about them. When the last song has ended, Umi drags Kotori (gently, or course) to a near field.

“I’ve always enjoyed looking at the stars at night”, Umi explains as she lays down, her hair spread around her head like an halo. Kotori quickly gets down as well, carefully slipping her hand into Umi’s. She sees her face blushing and smiles to herself.

“How did you get into it?”

“A girl from elementary school introduced me to it, I believe”, Umi thoughtfully answers, “I don’t remember her name, but she had this habit of baking something every time the class met up.”

Kotori briefly remembers their first baking meeting and instantly dislikes whomever Umi is talking about. (She doesn’t, sure, she couldn’t if she wanted to, but she’s  _close_.)

“Anyway, we had a sleepover once and she showed me her telescope. That’s when I really got into it. Like, I read about all those constellations, for example- see these stars?” She points to a bunch of stars.

“That’s Andromeda. It’s stunning, isn’t it?”

“It is”, Kotori whispers, but she’s not looking at the sky.Umi turns her head when she hears Kotori’s soft voice, and Kotori leans in.

 

“Can I”, she turns quieter as the distance between their lips gets smaller, “hm, kiss you?”

Umi’s gaze is on her lips. “You may”, she breathes, and Kotori closes the gap, her heart bursting from happiness. Umi’s lips are softer than Kotori expected, and she melts right into it. Umi smiles into their very first kiss and snuggles closer.

 

* * *

 

 

Maki hasn’t seen Nico in ten days and nine nights. The days are a little bit better than the nights ; on a scale from 1 to 10 maybe a 100. (A bit better, but the nights are a 1000.)

She has probably called a thousand times already, but Nico won’t answer the phone, or at least she won’t answer Maki’s calls. (One call declined. Whatever, Maki thinks, who needs Nico anyway? One minute passed, she’s on the phone again, because she needs Nico and she needs her now and she cannot be alone in this.)

 

It’s her fault, that’s worst. If Nico had done her wrong, horribly wrong, Maki could have sulked and made peace with it, eventually. But now? Like this?

Maki begins to think that having Nico in her heart maybe was the best thing to happen to her. (Maki already knows that pushing Nico away was the worst decision in her whole life.)

 

**Maki [22:16]:**  Hey. Are you alright? If you come over I can cook dinner for you.  
 **Maki [22:18]:** I mean, I don’t actually know how to, but we’ll figure something out. Can’t be that hard, right?  
 **Maki [23:57]:** You can come whenever you want, by the way. I know, it’s late already, but tomorrow’s another day.  
 **Maki [3:32]:** Right?  
 **Maki [4:55]:** I miss you.  
 **Maki [5:12]:** Nico, please.

 

Everything turns awfully bland when Maki realizes that Nico won’t come back to her. The games they used to play have become boring, she freezes in her bed without Nico laying her arms around her, the four walls of her room are stifling any good thoughts that she had left.

The color pink seems to be mocking her. Nico’s silhouette haunts her whenever she tries to forget. Her voice stays in her mind all day, like a lullaby it pulls Maki into her charm. Making sure that Maki won’t ever get over her first ever, true love.

Making sure Maki won’t ever forget that’s it her own damn fault that Nico Yazawa left.

 

* * *

 

 

“Can I ask you something?”

Kotori says it with an appropriate gentleness, trying not to scare Umi with her vague words, and she’s glad to see Umi doesn’t even twitch a brow. (She’s so glad to see how comfortable Umi has gotten with her.)

“At the beginning of the school year”, she slowly begins, adjusting her pose ; they’re sitting side to side on her bed, after their third date, waiting for the movie on her television to start, “did you dislike me?”

Umi turns her head and now she does frown, but it seems like she is rather confused than offended.

“Dislike you? Of course not, why are you asking?” She sounds genuinely curious, and Kotori gathers her courage.

“You would always turn your head when I looked at you”, she mumbles, a blush creeping onto her face as she’s speaking because this is pretty embarrassing, who is she lying to, “and before we were on that chemistry project, you pretty much avoided me all the time, so…” Kotori bites on her lips.

“Did you hate me?”

“Kotori…”

“Because, you know, I can handle it! I-“

“Kotori-“

“I’m honest, you can tell me everything, and-“

“ _Kotori.”_  
  


She shuts her mouth and Umi gives her a very awkward smile.

“Kotori Minami, the second I saw you I thought you were the prettiest person I’ve ever seen in my whole life.”

Umi’s voice is stable, but her red cheeks underline the honesty of her confession.

“Oh”, Kotori manages to say, and suddenly she feels very hot. “That’s very sweet from you.”

“Well, you are a very sweet girl.”

And suddenly, Kotori bursts out in laughter. “I really thought you hated me”, she quietly chuckles, snuggling closer to Umi.

“How could I”, Umi answers, wrapping her arm around Kotori’s shoulders and placing a kiss on her forehead.  
  


“I’m so glad I met you, Umi Sonoda.”

 

Kotori pulls Umi closer for a kiss and her heart is bursting from happiness.


End file.
